The Tired Heart
by TronaRi05
Summary: Arthur Kirkland is the new transfer student. When rumors start to spread that Arthur had passed a note to Alfred, his two friends decide to see if they can make Alfred and Arthur a pair.
1. The Transfer Student

"Hey, Alfred!"

Alfred turned around, smiling at his buddy, Matthew, "Mathew! Dude, you won't believe what happened to me-"

"Did you hear?" Matthew asked, interrupting me.

"Hear? Hear what?" Alfred asked, staring at him.

Matthew glanced around like it was top secret and not some gossip floating around. He whispered, "There's a transfer student."

"So?" Alfred asked.

"He's from England!" Matthew said, as if that would make everything clear.

"Uh okay. You're from Canada, what's so special from him coming from England?" Alfred asked.

"He's really smart, but I heard he's kind of a creep too," Matthew said and they started to head to their first class; World History.

"So, like Ivan?" Alfred said.

Matthew glanced around alarmed and sighed, "Don't mention him so loudly! He pops up out of nowhere and you know that!"

Alfred laughed, "It's always a coincidence."

"Coincidence or not it's still creepy," Matthew shuddered. "Never mind that! So this guy. His name is Arthur Kirkland and I heard he was picked on a lot, but he got like a sponsor or whatever and he came here to live with some relatives."

"Matt, that's going a little too overboard with rumors," Alfred said.

Before Matthew could continue a few of the buffer guys pushed passed him.

"Hey Alfred," they greeted casually, completely oblivious of Matthew.

"Hey guys," Alfred smiled and when they left, he reached down to help Matthew up.

"Uh, so yeah. They're not rumors!" Matthew said.

"Yeah, well we'll see," Alfred sighed.

He opened the door to the classroom to complete silence. Alfred slipped in awkwardly, Matthew behind him. They made their way to the back, Alfred sitting on the third seat in the first column and Matthew sitting next to him.

"Welcome class, to World History!" Mr. Karupsi said.

"Where's our other teacher?" Gilbert asked, raising his hand.

"That's a good question," the teacher said as he wrote his name on the board. "My name is Heracles Karupsi. I'll be your new teacher as your old teacher retired for the rest of the year due to her having a child."

"A new teacher and a new student," Matthew whispered to Alfred.

Alfred smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Speaking of new, I bet you guys have been hearing an awful lot of a new transfer student!" Mr. Karupsi said, grinning. He looked to the door, "Come in, Arthur."

A blond boy came in. His eyes were a strange green, glowing almost. He came shuffling in, looking at the ground. He stood next to Mr. Karupsi for a bit.

"Why don't you smile and introduce yourself?" Mr. Karupsi.

The boy looked up, "I'm Arthur Kirkland and I just transferred here from England."

"Anything else you want to tell us?" Mr. Karupsi asked.

"No."

Gilbert raised his hand, Alfred let out an inner groan. When he first arrived he thought he was bad, but then Gilbert came and now Alfred seemed like an angel.

"Yes?" Mr. Karupsi said.

"Why did you transfer?" Gilbert asked.

Arthur tensed up.

"If he doesn't want to talk about it then you shouldn't mention it. It's rude," Alfred grumbled. He looked up and realized everyone was staring at him. He turned slightly pink, he had accidentally said that louder than he had meant to.

After the silence Mr. Karupsi cleared his throat, "Um, Arthur please sit behind um…behind Alfred. Alfred raise your hand."

Alfred raised his hand, still slightly embarrassed.

Arthur made his way to the back and pulled the chair out to sit down. Mr. Karupsi started to talk about the history of America.

A piece of paper torn from a notebook found it's way onto Alfred's desk. Alfred looked at it and smiled.

_Thank you,_

_Arthur_

* * *

"So, Arthur's in most of your classes?" Lovino asked during lunch. He slipped in, in between Matthew and Alfred.

"Yeah…how did you know?" Alfred asked.

"Oh, rumors have been going around that you stood up to him and people were aware that he's in most of your classes," Lovino said, shrugging and taking a large bite from his pizza.

"He passed you a note in first period, didn't he?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded, skirting a packet of ketchup into his burger.

"What did it say?" Lovino asked, him and Matthew leaning in.

"It didn't say anything," Alfred said.

"Seriously?" Matthew sighed, leaning back.

"That's your response?" Lovino mumbled, turning back to his food.

"Guys, come on, stop acting like Arthur is a girl and that I have a shot at him or something…because he's not," Alfred said.

Lovino rolled his eyes, "Come on, Alfred. It's fine if you're on that side of the fence. Feliciano gets hit on all the time, that airhead."

"Yeah, but Feliciano doesn't want to get hit on," Alfred said.

"Hey, guys look," Matthew nudged Alfred and pointed.

Alfred and Lovino followed his finger to an empty table. Or it would have been empty, but Arthur had sat down.

"He looks lonely," Lovino grunted. He smirked at Alfred, "Hey, why don't you go and talk to the guy?"

"What? Why me?" Alfred asked.

"Because he passed you a note," Matthew said, catching onto Lovino's plan.

Alfred stood up and was pushed towards the empty table, with his tray. He slid down next to Arthur and smiled.

"Hey Arthur," Alfred said, smiling.

Arthur looked at him, a stunned look across his face, "Um…I think you're at the wrong table."

Alfred laughed, "What are you talking about? I wanted to talk to you."

"You…why?" Arthur asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I want to be friends with you?" Alfred said.

Arthur stared at Alfred for a moment longer, then he looked down at his food and started to fiddle around with it, "Why would you talk to me? I'm just a new student and-"

"You seem nice," Alfred interrupted.

"But you seem so popular," Arthur said, looking up at Alfred with large teary looking eyes.

"I'm not popular," Alfred laughed.

"You seem popular," Arthur said.

"Trust me, I'm average," Alfred smiled. "How about this, why don't we hang out after school, huh? Then you can see how normal I am."

"I can't, really," Arthur mumbled.

He stood up, without Alfred notice he had somehow finished his lunch. Alfred went back with the tray to his old table.

"Fail?" Matthew asked.

"Fail," Alfred confirmed.

"It's fine. You should try again later," Lovino smirked.

Alfred glared at Lovino, "Dude, stop talking like that. It creeps me out."

"Oh come on," Lovino laughed.

"Arthur is not a girl. Even if you treat this like a game, I think Arthur was hurt badly at his last school so stop," Alfred said, glaring at Lovino and Matthew.

"Yes, sir," they both said in unison, chuckling a bit at the thought.


	2. Therapist Kumajiro

Alfred walked out of the school gates, sighing. He started to walk for his bike. He looked up and saw strange green eyes staring back at him.

"Arthur!" Alfred smiled.

Arthur unlatched his bike and started to push it away. Alfred fumbled with his own, but when he got it he followed Arthur.

"Hey, so how was your day?" Alfred asked, "Make any friends?"

Arthur ignored Alfred.

"Was the cafeteria food good? I think it's kind of disgusting," Alfred said.

No response. Alfred clammed up for a good two minutes.

"Are you made at me?" Alfred asked.

Still no response.

"Why are you made at me?" Alfred said.

Again, no response.

"Arthur-"

"I'm not mad at you," Arthur said, he slowed down to a stopping point.

"Okay, then what is it?" Alfred asked.

"I just don't get why you're so keen on becoming my friend," Arthur said.

"Because you seem nice-"

"You don't even know who I am or how I really act. I bet if you did you wouldn't want to be my friend," Arthur said, starting to walk again.

"Wait, no," Alfred said. "I want to be your friend."

"Are you doing this because it's a stupid dare?" Arthur asked, stopping again to look at Alfred. "I know your type. You're Mr. Popular and you've got everyone hanging around you and you do anything stupid to keep that title. Your obnoxious and you don't care for anyone but yourself."

Alfred stared at him. It was a bluff, anyone would understand that. Alfred felt a pit of despair opening in his stomach. Was that really how he came off as? "Fine. If you don't want to be my friend then fine, I don't care anymore," Alfred grumbled. He jumped on his bike and rode quickly home, the wind blowing in his ears.

Arthur stared after Alfred and sighed. He didn't want to get too attached. If he did, people would start noticing his strange movements and they would start making fun of him again. This was how it was back in England.

"That was harsh," Matthew said, walking up behind Arthur.

He peered at Arthur attentively, "Did you really mean that? To my cousin, I mean."

"I just don't want to repeat what happened at my other school. If he's hurt that badly tell him I'm sorry," Arthur mumbled, hopping on his own bike and riding home.

* * *

"Alfred, open up," Matthew said, knocking on his bedroom door.

"No," Alfred said.

"It's my room too you know!" Matthew said. He sighed, "Alfred, I made a milkshake for you. Do you want it?"

Alfred opened the door and let Matthew in.

Matthew gave Alfred the cup and bounced on his bed. He grabbed the white polar bear stuffed animal that he had gotten from Kiku not too long ago.

"So, what happened? Why are you so depressed?" Matthew asked, staring at Alfred.

"I don't want to talk about it with you," Alfred said, slurping up the milkshake.

"Okay, not with me," Matthew looked around. "What about Lovino?"

"Definitely not him," Alfred mumbled.

"His brother? No, huh? Um…Gilbert?"

"No."

"How about you talk to Kumajiro?" Matthew held out the polar bear.

Alfred stared at Matthew, then looked down at the bear. The bear stared back at him with these round dark eyes that seemed to be able to keep any secrets. Before he knew what he was doing, he started to spill to the stuffed bear.

"And then when I asked why he was mad he told me he wasn't and then said he wasn't and started calling me all these names," Alfred took a small breath, "Not bad names, but they still hurt my feelings."

Matthew lifted Kumajiro's paw and waved it, making his voice somewhat high he said, "What are you going to do, Alfred?"

Alfred pushed the bear's head down and stared at Matthew, "What should I do?"

Matthew sat up, leaning against the wall and hugging the white fluff, "I think you should keep trying. If you don't he will think you aren't meaningful enough, you know?"

Alfred thought for a moment, "Yeah. Yeah I think I know what you mean…but maybe…just maybe…"

"What?" Matthew looked at him.

"Here's the plan," Alfred leaned in and started to whisper. When he pulled back he smiled at Matthew's expression, "Brilliant, isn't it?"

"Did you take advice from Mr. Bonnefoy?" Matthew asked, his eyes showing obvious terror.

"No, no!" Alfred laughed, his usual self again. "So, are you gonna help me?"

"It's ridiculous!"

"It's not that bad! Come one, dude, please?" Alfred said, pulling the puppy eyes.

Matthew stared back at his cousin for a bit, then sighed, "Okay, okay. Starting tomorrow, correct?"

Alfred smiled, "Yup! Tuesday will be the start of Plan Get Arthur to Like Me!"


	3. Let's Try This

Arthur's alarm clock rang, slightly after the designated time. He shot up and quickly got dressed, he grabbed his bag and ran for his bike. He hadn't meant to be this late, but he was. By the time he got to school, it was nearly second period.

"Arthur, why are you late?" Mr. Karpusi asked.

"I accidentally slept in," Arthur said.

"Did you set an alarm?" Mr. Karpusi said.

"Yes, but I think I was tired last night and my hand slipped so it went too far," Arthur explained, trying to keep himself from panicking.

"Why didn't you sleep earlier?" Mr. Karpusi said.

"I had to unpack…" Arthur's gaze lowered to the ground.

"Okay, it's fine. Since this is the first time I'll let you off with just a warning. If you do it again tomorrow then it'll be a lunch detention," Mr. Karpusi smiled.

"Thank you, sir," Arthur bowed slightly and headed to his desk behind Alfred.

Alfred didn't make a move to say hi, neither did his cousin. Matthew glanced as Arthur made his way to his seat though, there might have been a smile but nothing too visible. Alfred had his head turned and was staring out the window.

_Perhaps he's mad at me_, Arthur thought, _It's better that way. _

Shortly after class a teacher pulled him aside. He seemed to be the type that was extremely popular in high school back then. He had wavy blond hair that reached his chin and a trace of a beard. He wore a tight black shirt and blue jeans.

"Um…sir?" Arthur said.

"You're Arthur Kirkland, correct?" he asked. His voice had the faintest trace of a French accent that had long faded.

"Yes," Arthur nodded.

"I'm the art teacher and the counselor," he said, smiling, "My name's Francis Bonnefoy."

"Um…Mr. Bonnefoy-"

"Francis is fine," he smiled.

"Mr. Francis," Arthur corrected himself. "What do you need?"

"I noticed you haven't picked a club or an elective. How about joining the art club?" Mr. Francis asked.

"Is there anyone else in there?" Arthur asked.

Mr. Francis laughed, "Of course. There's Kiku and Yao and Feliciano. They're good artists and I was hoping to get one more person for my club."

"Um…okay," Arthur said, shrugging. "I don't have anything to do anyway."

"Good! Okay, the L-6 after school," Mr. Francis smiled and patted him on the back, "I hope to see you there, Kirkland."

Arthur watched as Francis walked down the hallway, greeting students along the way.

"What a strange man," Arthur mumbled.

"Hey, British boy."

Arthur looked behind him. It was one of the guys that he had seen Alfred hang around with. He had brown hair and stern eyes. They were full of fire and told everyone that he wasn't very patient.

"My name is Arthur," he said, glaring at him.

"I'm Lovino," he said. He took a step or two closer.

"What do you need?"

"I'm kind of wondering what you said to Alfred," Lovino said.

"What?" Arthur stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"He's kind of not himself today. I mean, he's still annoying and loud and smiling," Lovino said, "but he's not exactly happy."

"How do you know it was me?" Arthur asked.

"Because, you seem like the only thing that's able to upset him," Lovino said.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Maybe he got a bad grade or whatever?"

"He wouldn't get upset over that. He may be a complete idiot, but he gets good grades and even if he doesn't he always smiles it off and says he'll just try harder later. So that's definitely not it," Lovino said.

"Well, then I don't know-"

"Lovino," Alfred came up from behind, putting his hand on Lovino's shoulder. He looked at Arthur and quickly averted his eyes. "We have-um-we have football practice after school. Mr. Ludwig said."

"Okay, I'll make sure to be there," Lovino said.

Alfred walked past Arthur without a second glance.

"Well, just think about it. Maybe it wasn't you, but still," Lovino shrugged and started to go after Alfred.

"Hello," a boy with dark black hair answered the door. His eyes were a chocolate brown and he had an elegant and calming air about him.

"Um, is this the art club?" Arthur asked.

"Oh yes. Are you Arthur Kirkland?" he moved aside for Arthur to come in, "I'm Kiku Honda, nice to meet you."

Arthur shook Kiku's hand.

A guy with hair that fell slightly past his shoulders, which he had in a loose ponytail, looked up from his painting, "Who's this?"

"Arthur. You know, the one Mr. Bonnefoy told us about," Kiku said.

"Oh, I'm Yao," he smiled. Arthur looked down at what he was drawing. Cherry-blossoms and someone standing under them, watching as the petals fell.

"Feliciano isn't here today," Kiku explained, "and Mr. Bonnefoy had to go home for family troubles so it's just the three of us, I guess."

"Oh, I hope I'm not intruding," Arthur said.

Yao shook his head, "It's too awkward with just the two of us anyway. Please, sit wherever you like."

Arthur would have asked what's happened between them, but with the tension in the room he decided to keep his mouth shut and he sat down near the window, over looking the football field where the team practices.

He spotted Alfred, stretching, with Lovino. They were talking to each other. Alfred laughed at something Lovino said, but even from the highest floor, Arthur could see the slight sadness on his face. Lovino grabbed Alfred's face and squished it so he seemed to be making a fish face. Alfred swatted Lovino away and they both laughed. Arthur giggled himself.

As if far away, but in reality super close, Arthur heard Kiku and Yao arguing.

Lovino walked away, someone else calling him. Alfred just happened to glance up. Arthur felt Alfred's deep blue eyes stare into his green ones. Alfred smiled and waved.

Arthur continued to stare at him. Perhaps Alfred was waving at someone else and not him, but still Alfred continued to wave. Arthur lifted his hand and gratefully showed him a small wave. Alfred grinned brightly and waved back. Arthur blushed as Alfred turned away to talk to Lovino again. Alfred had seen him and he had been waving.

"Arthur, you okay?" Yao asked, "You're red."

"What?" Arthur put his hand up to his face, "No. No, I'm fine."

Kiku leaned in close so he could see what Arthur would be able to see, "Are you blushing because of Alfred or Lovino?"

"What?! No," Arthur said, turning so that he would face Yao and Kiku.

"Then what?" Yao thought for a bit and then a slow smile crept on his face, "Could you have been thinking dirty thoughts?"

Kiku rolled his eyes, "Come on, Wang. Do you really think he'd do that?"

Yao glared at Kiku, "You're one to talk, Honda."

Arthur looked at the clock and stood up, "Sorry guys. I have to go."

"Okay," Kiku smiled, "be back here tomorrow too. I think Mr. Bonnefoy is going to be here."

"Okay, I will try," Arthur grabbed his messenger bag and started to head out.

Alfred took a quick shower and changed in the locker room. "Bye coach, bye guys!"

"Good job out there today, Alfred!" Mr. Ludwig called.

"Thanks sir!" Alfred called back.

He walked to his bike. He had nothing to do at home so he might as well stop by the book store and find something productive to do. Matthew had offered a job interview at a café where he worked. Maybe I will do it, Alfred thought.

He stopped the bike and locked it to the bike rack. When he walked in, the small bell rang. No one was at the counter. Alfred sighed. He hated when no one was there. He didn't expect the clerk to be behind the counter during their shift all the time in this small book shop, but he'd hope they would be there when he came in.

He went to the very back, where the history section was. He loved reading about American and Great Britain's history. If Alfred told anyone on the football team they would call him a nerd and probably not talk to him anymore.

"Ouch!"

Alfred heard books falling and the unmistakable thump of a person falling. Alfred weaved his way through the bookshelves to the sound.

"Ow…." the employee said, rubbing his head.

"Are you okay?" Alfred asked, holding out his hand to help him up.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine," he looked up and Alfred was hit by the familiar green eyes.

"Arthur? I didn't know you worked here," Alfred smiled.

Arthur didn't take Alfred's hand and pushed himself up himself.

Alfred frowned, looking hurt.

Arthur looked at him, "What're you doing here?"

"This is the bookstore I come to regularly?" Alfred said. "You?"

"You said it yourself. I work here," Arthur said.

Alfred's frown didn't leave his face. He continued to stare at Arthur. Arthur stooped down to pick the books up. He looked up and Alfred was still staring. Arthur felt his face flush, "Wh-what?! Do you have to stare at me like that?"

"Huh? Sorry," Alfred looked away, looking extremely sad.

"Why?" Arthur asked.

"What?" Alfred looked up.

"Why are you so bothered that I don't want to be your friend?" Arthur said.

Alfred opened his mouth, but clammed up. Then he opened it again, "Well…I don't really have a reason."

Arthur looked at Alfred and sighed, "Okay. To get you off my back I'll spend the entire weekend with you. We can get to know each other, is that fine?"

Alfred smiled, "All right! You should spend the night. Oh god, I bet you and Matthew will get along fine too."

"Who?" Arthur asked.

"Um the blond guy that's my cousin?" Alfred said.

Arthur stared at him.

"Um…it's fine. You'll remember when you see him. He's kind of quiet," Alfred sighed. "So, can you stay over?"

"Uh, yeah sure. Why not," Arthur sighed.

"Okay, meet me at the school gates after school on Friday, okay?" Alfred smiled and he started to head home with that goofy grin on his face.


	4. The Smile

Arthur stood at the gates, wondering why he was actually waiting. Sooner than later, Alfred came over with his bike, smiling like the idiot he is.

"You ready?" Alfred asked.

"Shouldn't we wait for your cousin?" Arthur asked, lifting his bike up from where it was laying.

"Nah. He's got cooking club to deal with and he'll take forever to get out of there," Alfred laughed.

They started to head east, which happened to be where Arthur would usually go to go home.

"So, how has your first week been?" Alfred asked, smiling.

"Good I guess. I joined the art club and I managed to a get a job at that bookstore," Arthur said.

"That sounds cool," Alfred continued to smile. Then his face fell slightly, "Um…uh…manage to make any friends lately?"

Arthur didn't respond. If he admitted that Alfred was a companion Alfred would not stop clinging to him and _that_ might escalate again. Then again, "companion" is a long way from friend. Maybe it'd cheer him up a bit?

"Yao and Kiku are sort of my friends," Arthur shrugged, "They argue quite a lot when they're together though. Kiku is really nice and it's fun to talk to him."

"Anyone else?" Alfred asked, his frown growing.

"I wouldn't exactly say you're my friend," Arthur said.

Alfred smiled again, happy to be close to a friend even if not exactly.

Arthur kept himself from laughing. Alfred was so gullible, but Arthur felt some growing care for him. He wanted to protect him for some reason, which would obviously never happen.

* * *

"This is my house!" Alfred said as he opened the door.

Arthur peeked inside. Trophies of every kind of sport lined the walls. Pictures of Alfred accepting them were next to them also.

"These are all yours?" Arthur asked, walking over to a soccer trophy.

"Yup! I like playing sports," Alfred smiled. "You sit there and I will get something to eat and drink."

Alfred came back with small sandwiches and two cans of soda. "You wanna play a video game?"

"I'm not really good with them," Arthur said, opening the can.

"Just try, just try!" Alfred said and he crawled over to insert a game into the Wii. He handed Arthur a controller, which he reluctantly took, and Alfred sat back down, drinking his cola.

After what seemed like a few minutes, but actually a couple of hours Matthew came home.

"Aw! Dude, you didn't have to shove me off the ledge!" Alfred said, pushing his buttons frantically.

"It's how you win the game!" Arthur said, fighting one of the computer players while Alfred's character regenerated.

Matthew set his wallet down on the counter and quickly sat down on the couch, behind Alfred.

"Hey Matthew," Alfred said, without looking back.

"Oh, hi Matthew," Arthur said, trying to fight the urge to give him a proper greeting by looking back.

"Hi," Matthew said, staring at the screen and wondering who would win this one. "Are you guys playing with teams?"

"No," Alfred said. "I don't really like playing with teams."

"One more hit," Matthew said, cheering for Arthur more than Alfred.

The big words "winner" went to Arthur and Alfred sighed, "I told you you'd be good at it."

"3 games to 4," Arthur counted, "You won by one game."

"I did win didn't I?" Alfred smiled.

Matthew glanced at Arthur and noticed the small smile on Arthur's face. Matthew laughed, "Just by a game Alfred."

"Shuddup," Alfred laughed too. "What are we having for dinner?"

"Pizza!" Matthew said, "I bought ingredients and stuff. You guys can go upstairs if you want. I don't want you to ruin my master piece."

Alfred and Arthur walked upstairs to Alfred's room.

"It might be kind of messy because I share a room with Matthew," Alfred explained.

"Why?"

"The others are kind of pack with useless stuff we need to sell or whatever. Plus, Matthew doesn't really like sleeping alone," Alfred paused, "Not that we sleep together! On the same bed or anything-"

Arthur chuckled, "Okay, I got it."

Alfred opened the door. Arthur looked around, it wasn't that bad. On the left of the room was a bunk bed, on the right was a regular single-person bed. It was surprisingly neat. There was a picture beside the bunk beds, a picture of Matthew and Alfred and someone else, though he wasn't sure who.

"That's Francis when he was younger," Alfred explained, "When we were in middle school and he was a senior in high school."

"Mr. Bonnefoy?" Arthur said.

Alfred nodded, "Yup. He was a pervert even back then."

Arthur thought for a moment, then he said, "Tell me about yourself."

"Myself?" Alfred stared at him.

Arthur nodded, "I want to know more, for some reason."

"Um…like what?" Alfred asked.

"Anything," Arthur said.

"Uh…Matthew's my cousin and we've been living together for a long time. Francis is our guardian, but we moved out. Francis is my parents friend, but my parents kind of died a while back. I'm the captain and quarterback of the football team. I've never had a girlfriend and I've never kissed anyone…that's too personal. Um…I don't know what else to say."

Arthur smiled. He slowly started to chuckle and his chuckle escalated into a full scale laugh. Alfred blushed. Not because Arthur was laughing at him, no not at all. It was because Arthur was laughing. He looked cute when he was smiling.

Arthur yawned.

"Tired?" Alfred guessed.

Arthur nodded, "I had was still unpacking last night and we had an essay and all this other stuff."

"Oh yeah! We had an essay, didn't we?" Alfred smacked his forehead. "Science wasn't it? When is it due?"

"It's due on Monday. You still have three days," Arthur said.

"Oh, okay. Good," Alfred sighed, smiling.

"Where am I sleeping tonight?" Arthur asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. That one over there," Alfred pointed to the bed on the other side of the room.

"Okay," Arthur smiled and leaned back so his head touched the wall. "You know, I haven't felt this relaxed in a while."

"Why's that?" Alfred covered his mouth and added quickly, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, of course."

Arthur didn't say anything for a long span of time. The silence made Alfred uncomfortable. He had gotten on Arthur's good side and now he was probably mad at him.

"Well, I was kind of picked on," Arthur said.

"Really?" Alfred said, cautiously. "…Why?"

"I'm weird, I guess," Arthur said. "I kept seeing things I shouldn't be able to see and there were voices. I thought I was schizophrenic for the longest time, but one day I ignored it and they completely disappeared. That was probably a few months before I moved to America. Of course the things started talking again and I burst out once during class and everyone started teasing me."

Another tense pause. When Alfred was sure Arthur wasn't going to continue, he said, "I'm sorry I brought it up."

"It's fine, it's fine," Arthur yawned.

"If you're sleepy you can sleep. It's gonna take awhile for Matthew to finish that pizza of his without help," Alfred said.

No answer.

"Arthur?" Alfred turned around to look at him. Arthur had fallen asleep. Alfred smiled, "Hm…he looks different when he's asleep."

Alfred put Arthur down so that he wouldn't have back pains when he woke up, then he put a blanket over him. Alfred yawned, "I'm a bit tired myself…maybe if I just…for a little bit…"

* * *

Matthew opened the door quietly. He peered inside. Arthur was asleep on the bed and Alfred was resting his head on the edge, both were sound asleep. The English's hand was hanging limply over the bed, on Alfred's chest.

"He told me not to mess with anything," Matthew smiled to himself and backed out quietly. "Guess I'll get Kumajiro later, then."


	5. Just Gilbert

Alfred woke up, the curtains were open and slight sunlight streamed in. Arthur was still sound asleep.

"Arthur, wake up. Wake up, dude," Alfred shook him slightly.

Arthur grabbed Alfred and pulled him down, grumbling something about needing more sleep to keep up his image. Alfred blushed deeply.

"Um, Arthur," Alfred mumbled, his voice muffled because his face was buried in Arthur's chest.

"Shuddup and let me sleep Alfred," Arthur murmured, conscious enough to know that he was at Alfred's house.

"C-could you let go of me?" Alfred asked.

Arthur's grip didn't slack, even when he did fall back to sleep. "Arthur…"

"You have soft hair Alfred. It's like a girl's," Arthur mumbled. Alfred's face flushed more. He felt Arthur's warm breath on his skin, it tingled slightly.

"Are you saying that I'm a girl?" Alfred said.

"It's like a cloud," Arthur said, running a hand through Alfred's hair.

"Okay, okay, I'll let you sleep! Just let go of me!" Alfred pleaded.

There was an unpleasant silence, then Arthur scooted over and looked at Alfred, "Come on." he patted to the spot next to him.

Alfred looked at him, "Um-"

"Please? Just for a little," Arthur said.

Alfred thought about the pros and cons about this. He mentally shook himself out of the pros(dirty thoughts) and the cons. Was Arthur gay or was he just really insecure? Alfred shrugged it off and laid next to Arthur awkwardly.

Even though Arthur was shorter by a few inches, Alfred felt safe in his embrace.

Matthew smiled from across the room, "Alfred, I'm going to Francis's house today. You coming?"

"HUH?!" Alfred sat up so quickly he banged his head. "Um…yeah, sure. Why not?"

"I'll come too," Arthur sat up, "Can I?"

"Oh, yeah sure. The more the merrier!" Matthew smiled. "Antonio, Feliciano, and Lovino are going too. Francis was talking about how we're going to be the first to try his pastries or whatever."

"Then it's settled! Today, we're going to Mr. Bonnefoy's bakery!" Alfred smiled.

* * *

The shop was small and quaint, like any other bakery in that area. Inside though, it was noisy. Francis was placing a small cake in front of woman with long brown hair and a flower clip in her hair. A man with brown hair and glasses sat next to her, glaring at Gilbert, who was sitting on the opposite side of the woman.

Francis looked up from his customers, "Oh, Alfred and Matthew! Arthur too, what a pleasant surprise!"

"Hey perverted art teacher," Alfred greeted, smiling, "How's business going?"

"Now, Alfred, you shouldn't call your teacher that!" the woman said.

"Let him call Francis whatever he wants," the brown haired man said.

"Where's Feliciano and Lovino?" Alfred asked, changing the subject.

"They're busy. It seems Antonio decided to go shopping," Francis sighed.

Gilbert stared at Arthur.

"Oh, Arthur, you probably don't know them do you?" Matthew smiled. "The man with the glasses is our music teacher, Mr. Roderich Edelstein. The woman next to him is the cooking teacher, Elizabeth Hedervary."

"You're the new student correct?" Roderich asked, picking up his coffee.

"I'm Arthur Kirkland, nice to meet you," he said.

Elizabeth smiled, "No need to be so friendly while we're outside of school. You can call me Elizabeth if you want. "No, I couldn't," Arthur said, blushing.

Gilbert had been awfully quiet since the three blonde's arrival. Roderich looked at him, "Gilbert you okay?"

"Huh? 'Course I am you stupid aristocrat," Gilbert said.

"Why do you call me that?!" Roderich said.

"Because you act like one," Gilbert said. He grabbed his bag and stood up, "All right. I'm leaving. Later Francis, bye stupid aristocrat, bye Elizabeth."

Matthew and Arthur moved slightly as Gilbert walked past them. He stopped in front of Alfred and said, "Oh, don't forget about the sports meeting. Ludwig told me to remind you."

"Right," Alfred nodded and watched as Gilbert left.

"Who's he?" Arthur asked.

"Gilbert," the teachers said casually.

Arthur waited for them to expound on it, but they didn't. "Just Gilbert?"

"Yup," they agreed.

"He's kind of a delinquent," Matthew whispered.

"Oh," Arthur nodded understandingly. He'd have to watch out for that guy.

* * *

**THIS IS A SUPER SHORT CHAPTER! I am sorry! The next chapter is a filler, i guess, to kind of introduce more about the more minor characters like the teachers and the Asian countries and all the other nice ones.**


	6. If Only This were Real?

Quiet mornings were almost always deafening. That's why in this school, it's never quiet in the mornings, which just makes it worse.

"WHY DON'T YOU EVER SHUT UP!?" Ludwig asked.

"Well, I'm sorry that you don't like me when I'm talking," Francis said. "Maybe I will shut up."

"Come on guys, don't fight so early in the," Antonio yawned, "in the morning." He made himself a cup of coffee and sat down to grade the remaining papers.

"If they don't fight they'd fall asleep," Elizabeth commented, smiling as she helped Roderich tidy up his area a bit so that Antonio can have a bit more room.

"Maybe they should listen to some music then. It soothes and we don't get annoyed," Roderich said.

"Your music puts them to sleep still," Antonio said, giving a muffled yawn.

Roderich glared at him, "I'll have you know-"

"Excuse me," Tino came in, awkwardly-books falling out of his hands and his papers flying everywhere.

Berwald came in after Tino and sighed, helping him pick stuff up.

"Berwald, you're early today," Ludwig said, "Helping teachers again today?"

"Not really. Mr. Tino woke up early so I thought I'd come a bit earlier also," Berwald said, his face as emotionless as always.

"How did you-" Elizabeth nudged Roderich. "I mean…that's nice of you to come by so early. Could you help Mr. Tino set up his math class? You know how he is."

"Okay," Berwald grabbed Tino's cup, still holding the stack of books, and they made their way to the math classroom.

"Do you think they're going out?" Francis asked as soon as they left.

"Nah, it's not aloud," Antonio said.

The other teachers looked at each other, thinking the same thing, "You don't follow them either, Antonio."

"Speaking of kids, where's Lovino and Feliciano?" Francis asked.

"Why?" Antonio looked up from his Spanish papers.

"No reason, just wondering," Francis shrugged. "Feliciano is my favorite art student and I was a bit worried."

"The twins are fine at my house," Antonio said.

"Uh-huh," Ludwig mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Ludwig said quickly.

"How's Ivan doing in your class?" Roderich asked, quickly changing the subject.

Elizabeth sat down and sighed, "He tries, really. He just somehow manages to blow things up every time or overcooks them."

"Maybe he should try art club next?" Francis suggested.

"I'm afraid to offer, but what about Orchestra or Band?" Roderich said.

Elizabeth sighed, "I don't know. He doesn't have many friends I kind of feel bad for him."

"Arthur is a new kid and he's got more friends," Francis noted.

"Arthur?" Ludwig asked.

"A transfer student," Antonio said, "Alfred and Lovino and Matthew decided to become friends with him or something."

"Didn't Alfred try with Ivan too?" Roderich said, recalling something from the year before.

"Yeah, but Ivan said Alfred was annoying and Alfred decided not to try too hard," Elizabeth said.

The bell rang and all the teachers filed out to their classrooms.

* * *

"Hey, Lovino!" Feliciano grabbed his shoulder.

"What?" Lovino snapped, glaring at his younger brother.

"Why have you been hanging around Alfred and Matthew so much? I get lonely!" Feliciano said.

"You have your own friends don't you? Kiku," Lovino said, walking towards his locker.

Feliciano leaned against the one next to his. "He's my friend, but he doesn't talk much unless he's around Yao or Yong Soo. I guess it's entertaining to watch them argue, but I feel left out."

"Why don't you argue with them then?" Lovino said, feeling a growing anger.

"Lovino!" Feliciano whined.

"Why don't you talk to Ludwig?" Lovino closed the locker with a thud, "I bet he can help you. Probably tell you to go play some sports."

Feliciano stopped his mouth from moving and cocked his head like a confused dog. Lovino waved his hand in front of his brother's face, "What's wrong with you?"

"Alfred and another blond boy are getting along," Feliciano said.

Lovino turned around. Alfred was telling a joke and Arthur smiled, not exactly laughed but at least he smiled. Lovino swore he saw Alfred blush, then he laughed a bit.

"Hm…you're right," Lovino shrugged.

"Are they dating?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino stared at his brother and sighed, "Are we dating?"

"No."

"Exactly. Just because two guys get along _like brothers_, doesn't mean that they're gay for each other," Lovino said. He pulled on the backpack strap and started to head to first period.

"Wait, so are you going to sit with me during lunch or not?" Feliciano asked.

"We'll see," Lovino said, and he smiled to himself, "We'll see…"

* * *

"Im Yong Soo, for the last time," Yao said, glaring at him, "Give me back my essay."

"What do you mean your essay? I wrote it!" Yong Soo said.

Yao balled his fists up, "If you don't give it back I'll-"

"You should write your name in pen next time," Kiku said, sitting down at a nearby desk.

Young Soo scooted over to him, "But it's not his!"

"Yeah, I completely believe you," Kiku said sarcastically.

Yong Soo smiled triumphantly, "He believes me!"

"He's being sarcastic," Yao said impatiently. "Kiku, if you're not gonna help don't butt into this conversation."

"I didn't butt into this conversation. I made a comment and you chose not to ignore it, so technically you roped me into this conversation," Kiku said, slamming his notebook.

"Oh. Oh really?" Yao rolled his eyes, "You are completely insufferable!"

"I'm not insufferable. You're the one who's insufferable. Who's the one that decided to break up-"

"You guys were dating?" Yong Soo asked.

"No," they both answered quickly.

"Who's the one that decided to break up the friendship?" Kiku asked.

"Okay, for the last time," Yao took a deep breath, "I didn't do it. You're the one who backstabbed me."

"I thought you really did do it. I told you I was sorry," Kiku said.

"Sorry doesn't exactly cut it. My perfect record was ruined because of something I didn't do," Yao said, "Do you know how annoyed that makes me? I was suspended for a month for a prank that Yong Soo pulled. Why would you believe a word he says in the first place?!"

"We were in middle school!" Kiku said.

"A month is a long time for a middle school student to get suspended for!" Yao said.

The door opened. The classroom had been empty besides the three of them, but now Arthur came in quietly and awkwardly, Alfred following behind him.

"So then Matthew called Francis a bad word," Alfred said.

"What did he call him?" Arthur asked.

Alfred paused for a minute, "I don't think I can say."

Yao jumped down from his perch on the desk and glared at Kiku, "I will never forgive you Honda."

"I don't need you to forgive me Wang," Kiku said, slamming another book on his desk.

Kiku glanced up at Yao, a glimmer of remorse in his eyes. Did he want Yao to forgive him?

* * *

"I-Ivan, do you need something?" Yao asked.

It was the end of third period, which meant it was time for lunch. Everyone had filed out of the building and had gone to the cafeteria, except for Ivan and Yao.

"I was wondering about-" Yao put a hand on Ivan's mouth.

"Please, don't talk about it," Yao said, "I don't really know right now. I can't exactly deal with this at the moment."

"Do you still like Kiku?" Ivan asked after Yao took his hand away.

Yao blushed, "I never liked Kiku-I mean Honda-in that way. He was always like a little brother to me."

Yao turned away from Ivan, trying to avoid the hurt in Ivan's eyes, "I don't really like you in that wa-"

Ivan turned Yao to face him and kissed his lips. When Ivan pulled away, Yao was a bright red. He opened his mouth to something but all that came out was a squeak. Ivan turned and left without another word. Yao covered his mouth as if to keep from anyone kissing him again.

"Well, that was interesting," Mei said, coming out of an empty classroom.

Yao still couldn't speak, he continued to gap at what had just happened.

"Was that your first kiss?" Mei asked, smirking.

Yao shook his head.

"Did you feel hot?" Mei said.

Yao was afraid to nod, but he did.

"You like Ivan," Mei concluded.

"I-I don't. I'm…I don't," Yao said and turned away, walking towards the stairs.

* * *

"Gilbert, straighten up," Roderich said.

"I don't feel like it," Gilbert said.

Roderich walked down from the small podium and stood in front of Gilbert, "Class won't continue until you sit up straight."

Gilbert rolled his eyes.

Roderich gave an angry sigh, "Go outside Gilbert."

"Fine," Gilbert stood up, knocking over the music stand on purpose.

"Pick it up," Roderich said.

Gilbert stooped down and picked it up. As he walked past he muttered, "Stupid aristocrat."

After a few minutes, Roderich opened the door and towered over Gilbert, who was sitting.

"What's wrong with you today?" Roderich asked.

Gilbert looked away and didn't respond. Roderich sat down next to him and waited patiently. In front of the class he was a teacher, but when they were alone…well, they could be friends.

"I'm confused," Gilbert finally said.

"Of course," Roderich said.

"Like, my heart," Gilbert said, clutching his chest.

"You're not sick or anything, right?" Roderich said.

"No…no, not that kind of thing," Gilbert let out a frustrated sigh.

"You can talk to me if you want," Roderich said, leaning his head back.

Gilbert thought for a moment. It was always so awkward when he talked to Roderich. If only Elizabeth were here, it wouldn't be as odd.

"Love problems?" Roderich said, trying to help get the conversation moving.

"Not exactly…" Gilbert said, then sighed. "Well, kind of."

"Do you like a guy?" Roderich said.

Gilbert blushed, "Um, I guess."

"Oh," Roderich was tired. He had pulled an all-nighter without any help from Elizabeth. He wasn't exactly used to that. "Who is it?"

Gilbert stood up, "Okay, stop torturing me already. I'll sit up straight, now can we go back inside?"

Roderich stood up himself and wobbled. Gilbert caught him, "You're surprisingly light."

"Shut up," Roderich said, "I didn't eat lunch."

Gilbert rolled his eyes, "You're a real idiot you know that."

"Yeah, I know," Roderich opened the door to the squeaking of the Orchestra room.

* * *

Alfred watched as the bustle of the school came to an end. Yao argued with Kiku, only to be pulled aside by Ivan. Kiku looked a bit lonely, but smiled when Feliciano came over to him with Lovino. Francis and Ludwig were arguing as always, with Francis looking as calm as ever. Roderich avoided Elizabeth awkwardly, but Gilbert dragged them together and ran away laughing.

Alfred smiled. If only this was all real. Wait…what? Of course this was real. He shrugged off that strange thought and started to head home.


	7. Gilbert's Stick Figures

It's been three weeks since Alfred invited Arthur over. In those three weeks, Arthur had been slowly drifting away from Alfred again.

"Haha, dude you've been dumped," Gilbert said after hearing Alfred's dilemma.

Alfred rested his head on the lunch table, "You really think so?"

"Well, were you guys actually dating in the first place?" Gilbert asked, swinging his fork in Alfred's direction.

"Wha-?! Of course not!" Alfred sat up.

"Guessing by that big reaction you thought about doing stuff with him, right?" Gilbert laughed.

"Stuff?" Alfred asked.

Gilbert smirked, "Like kissing and the sort."

"Uh…" Alfred covered his mouth, blushing.

"Well, the first step is to figure why Mr. British is distancing himself from you again," Gilbert said, stabbing a French-fry. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Alfred said.

Lovino slipped in next to Gilbert, Matthew sat down next to Alfred. "What did you do now, Gilbert?" Lovino sighed.

"I didn't do anything. This guy asked me to sit with him for advice or whatever," Gilbert shrugged.

"I honestly don't know what I did," Alfred murmured.

"Seriously?" Gilbert sighed. "Okay, what was the last conversation you guys had before he started to stop talking to you?"

"Um…we were talking about school?" Alfred said.

"And?"

"I told him about the football team."

"Okay, stop," Gilbert held up his hand. He reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. "Why exactly did you say?"

"I was talking about how I was the captain and how the guys were kind of jerks," Alfred said.

"Hm," Gilbert finished whatever he was doing and pushed the paper across the table.

"What's this?" Alfred asked, holding up the paper of a rough sketch.

"How do you not get that?" Gilbert said. He picked up his pencil and pointed at each part while he spoke, "That's British Boy. He's being surrounded by your little friends and they're threatening him. Maybe that's what happened. Maybe they threatened him."

Matthew and Lovino looked at it drawing.

"Dude, you just drew a bunch of stick figures! How was I suppose to know?" Alfred rolled his eyes.

"Well, I helped you find a possibility as to why that happened," Gilbert said, eating his cookie, "Why don't you go ask and see if this theory is correct?"

"It's probably not correct," Alfred said.

"Okay, go to the art club today and see if it's right or not," Gilbert argued.

"Fine, I will!" Alfred said.

"Okay, good," Gilbert stood up.

"Wait, where are you going?" Matthew asked.

"I'm not ft to sit here. I'm as much as an outsider than anyone. I'll see you guys around," Gilbert smiled slightly and left.

* * *

"Arthur," Alfred said, catching the Britain right after he finished work.

It was starting to get cold and Alfred was wearing a black trench coat and a scarf that was pulled tightly around his neck.

"What do you want Jones?" Arthur asked, pulling his jacket closer around himself, and his hat lower so that it covered his face.

"Why are you giving me the cold shoulder all of a sudden? We were getting along so well for the longest time," Alfred said, trying to keep up with him. "Is it something I did?"

"It's not anything you did," Arthur said, speeding up.

"Then what is it?" Alfred asked.

"It's just my problems," Arthur said.

"Family problems?" Alfred asked.

"No, my family is very accepting," Arthur said, sounding angry.

"School?"

"No."

Alfred thought for a bit, "Love?"

Arthur slowed down to a stop, "…No."

"Then what is it?" Alfred asked again.

"It's just…something that was on my mind is all," Arthur mumbled, turning away.

"Um…okay…but why haven't you been talking to me?" Alfred asked.

"Look, I don't want to talk to you because I don't want to talk to you. That's all there is to it, Jones," Arthur said.

Alfred watched as Arthur walked away in the slowly falling snow, completely stunned.


	8. Just Friends

It was a blizzard that day. The snow piled up and it was bad enough, so that no one had to go to school.

"Alfred, you look depressed," Matthew said, setting the breakfast down in front of his cousin, "As a pick-me up, I made extra pancakes."

"I don't feel like eating," Alfred mumbled.

"Um…waffles?" Matthew suggested.

"Nah…I'm good," Alfred said.

"Toast with peanut butter and jelly…and butter?" Matthew suggested.

"No…not really," Alfred rested his head on the table with a thump.

"Bacon?" Matthew wafted the freshly fried bacon in Alfred's face.

Alfred sat up, "Okay!"

As Alfred ate, he complained, like he always did, "Arthur is mad at me and I don't know why. He says it's not my fault, but I feel like it is."

"Maybe you're just being paranoid," Matthew said.

"No. I think I'm not. The way he looks at me and stuff," Alfred stuffed his face.

Matthew sighed, "If you like him just ask him out. The worst that could happen is that he'll say no."

"First," Alfred swallowed, "I don't like him. Second, even if I did love him he would probably think that I'm weird and say no."

"Well, you'll never know until you try, right?" Matthew said.

"Right…BUT I'VE ALREADY TRIED! That saying doesn't work," Alfred pouted.

"Come on. Tomorrow we'll probably get to see him. Don't worry," Matthew shrugged.

Arthur didn't come to school the next day, or the day after that. Alfred sighed and went for the last resort.

"Excuse me?" Alfred knocked on the art room.

The door creaked open, Yao stood there, a shadow over his face. When he saw Alfred he smiled slightly, "Oh. Alfred. How are you today."

"Has Arthur contacted you?" Alfred asked.

Yao didn't answer for a bit, then he said, "Arthur is sick. If you want to visit him, I'd like to advise you otherwise…"

"Why's that?" Alfred asked.

"I wasn't suppose to tell you in the first place," Yao growled, "Now can you leave, I'm busy."

"I'm sorry to disturb you," Alfred backed away.

When he was out of ear-range he said, "Well…Yao isn't in the best mood today. Maybe I'll go look for Kiku…"

Alfred found Feliciano with Kiku, staring at the sky.

"Um…Kiku," Alfred hovered over him.

"Oh, hello Alfred," Kiku smiled.

"I was wondering, where's Arthur?" Alfred said.

"Arthur…he's sick. I think he has the flu?" Kiku frowned, "You should go visit him."

"I don't have his number and I don't know where he lives," Alfred said.

"Right," Feliciano giggled, "Alfred doesn't know anything about Arthur."

"Feliciano!" Kiku nudged him.

"Yeah…I guess he's right…" Alfred mumbled.

"Here," before Alfred had known, Kiku had written down Arthur's address, "the Britain's address."

"Th-thanks…." Alfred accepted the slip of paper and decided to visit later.

* * *

"Hey…um…I'm wondering where Arthur was," Alfred said, after school. He was standing in front of Arthur's house, being greeted by a tall man with auburn hair.

"Arthur," the tall man repeated, then he smirked, "Huh, what do you know! That little brat has friends."

"Excuse me?" Alfred stared at him.

"Sorry. My little brother is sick. He has a fever for some random reason. My dad found him sitting outside in the snow because he forgot his keys and no one was home," the man said, rolling his eyes.

"Can I see him or is that too much trouble?" Alfred asked, suddenly anxious.

"Yeah, sure. You're his friend, so why not," the man moved aside. "I'm Allistor, by the way. Your name?"

"Alfred Jones," he took Allistor's hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you. My brother's room is over there to the left," Allistor pointed, "I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

Alfred carefully made his way to Arthur's room. He knocked, "Come in," came Arthur's sick voice.

Alfred opened the doorknob slowly and peeked it. Arthur was curled in a blanket, reading. "Hey," Alfred stood at the door, unsure if he was aloud to go in, "I wanted to see if you were okay."

Arthur glared at Alfred, then his gaze softened, "Come in, Alfred. I'm not gonna bite."

"Ha…ha…right," Alfred slipped in, but left the door partially open. He sat down on the floor and picked up a nearby magazine.

"So, how's school?" Arthur asked.

"So-so. I like it better when you're around. It was snowing a bit more today, so we didn't have football practice," Alfred said. "Man…it's been three days."

"Well, at least you get to concentrate more on your work, right?" Arthur smiled.

"You listen?" the words slipped out of Alfred's mouth so quickly, he couldn't react, "I mean-! I know you listen, but I didn't think you'd really care because you hate me so much."

Arthur stared at him for the longest time and laughed, "Of course I care about you! Plus, even if I didn't I would probably remember a thing or two of what you've said all the time."

"Well, I guess that's true…" Alfred was blushing furiously.

"You know, what? You're cute when you're flustered," Arthur giggled and turned back to his book.

"Wh-what are you reading?" Alfred asked, trying to control his heartbeat.

"Sherlock Holmes," Arthur said. "The third time I've read it."

"Oh. Sounds interesting," Alfred said, watching as Alfred turned the page and as his expression changed. Alfred smiled, then shook his head, feeling like an idiot. His heart was racing. This feeling was the type he got when he was younger and he was paired up with a cute girl. Why was this happening with Arthur?!

Arthur looked at Alfred, then he leaned down and did something completely unexpected. Alfred sat there, stunned. The English boy had kissed him. On the lips. It was just a small peck, but it was enough to get Alfred confused.

"Um-Uh-I," Alfred stumbled over his words.

Arthur continued to smile.

"I…Um…So how're you feeling?" Alfred looked away and started to fiddle with a near by magazine.

"Alfred."

"Y-yeah?" Alfred averted his gaze as much as possible.

"Do you like me?" Arthur asked.

"Of course I do. You're a cool guy-"

"Not like that," Arthur said.

"Like what then?" Alfred looked up into the boy's brilliant green eyes.

"Do you love me?"

There was a slight pause, then Arthur laughed and turned back to his book. "Ha! I was just kidding. You should have seen the look on your face Alfred, it was priceless."

"Huh? Um…yeah. Right…" Alfred's heart felt like it was about to jump to his throat._ Did Arthur really just ask that? He even kissed me, but why didn't I feel disgusted by it? I kind of liked it too…_

"I…I gotta go," Alfred pushed himself up, "I hope you feel better soon. Um…here's my number if you need to call."

Alfred scribbled it on a scrap piece of paper and gave it to Arthur, then hurried out of the room.

"So, how's Arthur?" his older brother asked.

Alfred rushed past him, saying, "He seems okay. Energetic enough to keep up with me. I bet he'll be fine by Monday."

As soon as Alfred closed the door, he was immersed in the coldness of the outdoors. It had started to snow lightly again, each breath Alfred took sent out a small puff.

"I better go home before it gets bad…" Alfred mumbled. He jumped when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He slipped it out of his pocket and opened the new message as he walked.

**To: Alfred Jones**

**From: Arthur Kirkland**

**Just wanted to tell you that you left your scarf.**

Alfred felt his neck. He did leave his scarf. He flipped his phone to text back and said:

**Just bring it to me when you go back to school. **

A quick reply came back: **No.**

**Alfred: Why not?**

**Arthur: Because it might ruin your reputation to hang out with a nobody like me. **

**Alfred: What do you mean? I don't care about my reputation, we're friends. If it worries you that much, then just give it to me after school. **

**Arthur:…okay. **

**Alfred: We're **_**friends**_**, Kirkland. Don't forget that. **

Yeah, just friends, Alfred thought, that's all we are.


	9. Something Special

Matthew watched as Alfred busied himself around the house. It was rare to see his cousin running around and cleaning everything. As Matthew sat there, as if he were invisible, Alfred had already finished all the dishes and even cleaned the bathroom.

"So…did something happen?" Matthew asked, after Alfred had slowed down.

"Nothing major," Alfred said.

"Arthur did something didn't he?" Matthew shifted his position so that he would be able to look at Alfred over the top of Kumajiro's head.

"N-no! What are you talking about?!" Alfred rolled his eyes and cleared the coffee table.

Alfred sighed and sat next to Matthew, picking up a magazine, "Look, I don't want to talk about it. The conversation is over."

"Okay…but just to let you know, it'd be okay if you were gay," Matthew said.

"What?"

"It'd be okay…I mean, I'd like you anyway. You're my cousin! You know?" Matthew smirked.

"Dude, you're rhyming," Alfred rolled his eyes.

"I was…sorry," Matthew yawned. "So, you're not going to tell me what happened?"

"Obviously not."

"Okay…" Matthew stood up and chuckled, "He kissed you didn't he?"

Alfred gave a stumbling retort, but soon gave him to explain to the now laughing Matthew. He sighed and got up. Maybe he would ask Arthur out to clear up these strange feelings.

* * *

"Will I what?!" Arthur stared at Alfred. It was too early to be joking about this, especially when there was a test.

"Please? Please go out with me?" Alfred said.

"What? Why?!" Arthur asked. "Plus, shouldn't you be-"

"We're friends, Arthur!" Alfred said. He looked down at his shoes, "When you kissed me I felt something special between us…so, please?"

Arthur stared at Alfred, then rolled his eyes and blushed, "I-I guess…if that's what you want."


	10. Sorry!

Arthur looked at himself in the mirror, the fifth time that day. Every time he passed the bathroom he felt the urge to go in and ask himself why did he suddenly get a love confession? From a super popular _guy_ to top it off with.

"What's got your panties all riled up?" came the annoying voice of his stepbrother, Allistor.

Arthur looked away from his reflection, "Excuse me?"

"I mean, every three seconds you come in here to look at yourself. What's wrong with you?" Allistor asked, running his hand through his thick red hair.

"Nothing. I'm just…I feel like I don't eat enough so…yeah," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Right. Little bro, I've been with you since you were one. I think I know when something's up," said the stupid Scottish man. "Tell me."

Arthur rolled his eyes again, then pushed passed his brother to get to his own room. "What ever."

"Arthur," Allistor grumbled, following the younger brother. "Come on. If you don't tell me what's up, I'll send Peter after you."

"Peter is at a friend's house," Arthur said, dreading the thought of having that little boy following him around all day.

Allistor pinned Arthur to the wall and glared at him, "Answer me you bloody little twit. If you talk about it, maybe you'll feel better, maybe not."

Arthur brushed the red-haired boy off and sat down at his desk, "Fine. I'll talk about it."

Allistor closed the door and sat down on the floor, ready to hear his brother speak.

Arthur took a deep breath, "I think…I think I'm gay."

Allistor stared at him, then laughed.

Arthur turned a deep shade of red. Did his older brother think he was kidding?

"Oh, Arthur. Of course you are. You've been actin' like a sissy your whole entire life!" Allistor said, gasping for breath.

"Okay well. Yesterday…yesterday Alfred confessed to me," Arthur said, blushing harder.

Allistor thought for a moment, "I'm guessing you like this Alfred boy?"

"Well, I didn't think I'd make friends here, but…he was the only one who said he wanted to be my friend," Arthur said. "Then I kind of thought he was cute and then he asked me out."

"He's the one that ran out after visiting you, right?" Allistor said. "Well, just accept the fact that you like a thick-headed idiot."

"He's not a thick-headed idiot! He's smart and strong and he's the…" Arthur placed his hand over his mouth, then ran a hand through his short blond hair. "Oh goodness…"

"Face it, champ. You're in love," Allistor said. "You'll be fine. Just don't screw it up with your kookiness."

"Kookiness?" Arthur looked at him.

"You know, the "fairies" and stuff," Allistor stood up. "I'm not saying I don't believe you on that part, but…I'm saying just watch out. I know they've left, but they might come back."

Arthur watched as his older brother opened the door and slipped out, not bothering to close it. Arthur sighed. The fairies. They have disappeared. They haven't bothered him in so long. It was fine. Perfectly fine…right?

* * *

"Arthur!" Alfred ran up to the British boy like a happy little puppy. "I was waiting for you."

"But you said to meet at nine," Arthur said, looking at his watch.

"Yeah, but I was excited, so I came earlier," Alfred smiled sheepishly.

Arthur blushed. This guy said embarrassing things again. Alfred took Arthur's hand and started to talk.

"Where do you want to go for lunch?" Alfred asked.

"Anywhere is fine," Arthur mumbled.

"Okay, McDonalds?" Alfred said.

"Yeah, sure," Arthur said.

Alfred stopped and turned back to look at Arthur, "Are you okay? You look a little pale."

"I always look pale, Alfred. I don't like the sun," Arthur said.

"No…I meant a sickly pale," Alfred said. He put his hand on Arthur's forehead and then on his own, "Not a fever. Did you sleep well last night?"

"I'm fine, Alfred," Arthur said.

Alfred stared at him, "O-okay. Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm being an idiot. Come on, let's go," Arthur smiled lightly.

They ate in an awkward type of silence. Alfred not wanting to make Arthur more angry and Arthur not sure how to make a proper conversation. Alfred stood up to throw his stuff away, accidentally knocking over the soda.

"Ah!" Arthur yelped.

Alfred stared in shock at the stain then started to freak, "Oh my god, Arthur. I am so sorry, I didn't mean-um. Napkins!"

Alfred came back and started dabbing Arthur's leg with the napkins.

"Um, Alfred. It's okay. Just let me go to the bathroom," Arthur said.

Alfred looked up, Arthur's face was a bright pink. Alfred stood up, "Y-yeah. Right. Do you want me to come too?"

"No, it's fine. I'll be back in a few," Arthur stood up and rushed to the bathroom.

Alfred ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "I'm an idiot."


End file.
